Isla Sorna : Field Journal
by VctrBnsn
Summary: Chronicles the journal entries of a paleontologist who goes to Isla Sorna in hope of studying dinosaurs. However, his initial excitement soon turns into terror when he discovers how dangerous the island really is.
1. Chapter 1

July 18th, 2004, 5:04 P.M.

I have made it! After all this time, I have finally made it. It has been the dream of almost everybody in the paleo-scientific community to visit this island. It's amazing how few people have seen these creatures alive. Although I respect Dr. Alan Grant as a colleague and as an amazing scientist, I feel his constant bashing against these islands and InGen's work is severely unwarranted. I'm not exactly sure what he went through, but I'm sure greater people than him have endured worse for the sake of scientific progress. He should have been grateful to be one of the few people to see these animals up close.

Getting to Isla Sorna wasn't easy. My initial attempts to travel to Isla Nublar were thwarted when I discovered the entire island was bombed not long after the 1993 incident. Then I remembered the second island, Isla Sorna, still supported a viable population of dinosaurs, with several species that never made it to Nublar. Security around these isles is tight, however. Local Costa Rican's used to host illegal tours around the islands, charging a fortune to tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the dinosaurs. They never went on land, however, the cowards. Unfortunately, those practices were shut down after the recent incident involving Dr. Grant and that Kirby family, who lost their son here on a similar expedition. However, with the right amount of money, you can get someone do just about anything. Isn't that right, Alan?

A local dropped me off on the island, but didn't want anything more to do with me after that. He left me with my supplies, took the money, and left. I am now all alone, with nothing but my thoughts and this journal. Isn't it exciting! I've been here no more than half an hour and I already feel like I've walked into some primordial world. Haven't seen any dinosaurs yet, but I can hear calls from the distance that sound utterly alien, unlike any animal alive today. I can't wait to show off my findings when I come back.

It'll be about two hours until sunset, I should probably get camp ready. I think this beach should do just nicely. The local is scheduled to pick me up on this very shore in three days. I hope that's enough time. But until then, I'm off to make discoveries.

July 19th, 2004, 8:23 A.M.

The night was surprisingly calm. I've worked in the field before, and have slept in some unfavorable conditions, but this island is surprisingly nice. I've awoken relatively early, getting ready for my trek through the jungle. I made sure that I had everything I might need; food, water, compass, gun, journal, camera, sound recorder, binoculars, et cetera. I haven't seen anything unusual yet, but the distant noises remain persistent. I have also seen track ways on the sand, seemingly from a medium sized theropod. It was my first sign of something truly extraordinary here, and they led straight into the forest. So that's where I must go as well.

July 19th, 2004, 10:46 A.M.

My first few hours in the jungle have been exhausting. The air is humid, and the density of the trees suffocates you. I've realized that in all my years of field research, I've never went to a tropical rainforest. I've heard that the opposite side of the island is dryer and less dense, but who knows if I'll ever make it there. Oh well, once I see a dinosaur it will all be worth it.

July 19th, 2004, 12:30 A.M.

For a second I thought I would never see a dinosaur. I saw plenty of signs of their presence, footprints, trampled foliage, and even some large droppings (which I obviously took samples of). It wasn't until I made it to a stream that I finally saw some! Scurrying around by the river bank was a pack of small, green theropod dinosaurs. They bobbed around the river bank for a good five minutes, squawking and chirping like a flock of birds, before they ran back into the trees. It was a perfect picture taking opportunity. After reviewing my photos, I deduced that the dinosaurs were probably Compsognathus or a similar species. Even at their small size, they were absolutely astonishing! This is exactly the kind of push I needed to continue. Even at that, my luck continued to grow. Not long after seeing the Compys, I ran into a game trail; a very large one at that; in the middle of the rainforest. If I want to see some real dino's, this is exactly the thing to follow. Time to go exploring.

July 19th, 2004, 4:09 P.M.

Oh my god-

July 19th, 2004, 8:38 P.M.

Oh how unscientific of me. I knew I should have wrote down my findings as I witnessed them, but understandably, I got caught up in the moment. Now that I am back at camp, with all my photos, I can calmly reflect on the events that have preceded this evening.

My first full day on Isla Sorna has been an incredible success. I thought seeing those Compys for the first time was exciting, but nothing prepared me for this! As I followed the game trail out of the forest, it led me into a massive clearing. And in that clearing I saw eternity. Herds and herds of gigantic dinosaurs, more than I could have possibly imagined. Their footsteps shook the ground, and their enchanting bellows filled the air. All I could think to do was to take pictures and stair with my mouth gaping.

Now that I've had the chance to calm down and take a look at the photos I took, I can truly process everything I saw. My first set of photos was of a herd of gigantic sauropods, probably Brachiosaurus. Their mere presence was mind blowing, even at a distance, each step they took left me feeling like I was in the presence of gods. Even more exiting was something I've noticed only while reviewing the photos, the brachiosaurs displayed sexual dimorphism. One group of sauropods were colored a brownish tan, reminding me of the classic illustrations of these beasts using drab, elephantine colors. However, another group of the same sauropods were colored a brilliant green and yellow, with their heads topped with a striking red. I theorize that, much like in birds today, the females were colored rather dull, while the males exhibited eye catching hues. I don't think I'll never look at sauropods the same way again.

And that wasn't even half of it! Below the sauropods was a herd of brightly colored hadrosaurs. They were colorful, and noisy. In fact, the many calls I heard reminded me of a mix between whale songs, elephant, horse, and birds, yet completely different from them at the same time. Much like those species, the variety of sounds they display suggests some form of simple language, perhaps up to par with dolphin sound. The only hadrosaurs I could identify for sure were Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus, but I know I saw more.

At a riverbank, I saw a parent Triceratops and its young wading at the water's edge. It was at a distance, but with my binoculars, I was able to get a good look at the stunning creature. The adult's face was half submerged in the water; similar to a hippo, with its horns sticking out magnificently out of the surface; while the young one was content splashing around on the bank. The adult was a muddy brown in color, while the baby seemed to have a brighter color. I'm not sure if the color change between sexes applied to Triceratops, or in fact all dinosaurs as well, but it is something I would like to discover for myself.

Even with the humidity and claustrophobic jungle, today was the best day of my entire life. And it's only been day one.


	2. Chapter 2

July 20th, 2004, 11:55 A.M.

Walking across this same game trail again, and I've seen even more signs of life than last time. As I trekked down the path, I heard a rustling in the foliage. At my surprise I saw a herd of horse sized ornithopod dinosaurs at my left. The walked by rather swiftly, barely noticing my presence. One did take a glance at me, staring with these large, black eyes. They were a dark green, and blended in perfectly with the ferns they were trotting through. They had the basic body shape of a hypsilophodont, but were a lot larger than the majority of species I knew. I think they were most likely Dryosaurus. It was the closest I've gotten so far to a dinosaur. Even though this species is often thought of as a small dinosaur, it still seemed large in comparison to modern animals. Its presence was still intimidating, even for a species most people consider boring compared to sauropods and carnosaurs.

Even more impressive, and more frightening, was a discovery I've made further down the trail. I smelt it long before I saw it, but when I did, I was both intrigued and horrified. It was a mutilated carcass of what used to be a hadrosaur. The biggest flanks of meat were already gone, while smaller chunks still covered the body. A swarm of flies filled the air, while a couple Compys picked at the bones. This was obviously the work of a large predator, and it wasn't here yesterday.

A measure of fear started to grip me. I suddenly remembered that I was in a wilderness full of dangerous and unpredictable creatures. Even so, seeing a large predatory dinosaur would be an amazing treat, just hopefully at a distance. I'll continue down this path, I'll just keep an eye open for theropods.

July 20th, 2004, 1:00 P.M.

I've returned to the clearing, hoping to catch another glimpse of these saurian behemoths. I wasn't disappointed. The brachiosaur herd has since moved on, but in their place was a slew of creatures I have yet to see. The hadrosaur herd has moved much closer, allowing me to identify many more species. Along with the Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus I've observed earlier; I was also able to identify a flat headed hadrosaur, probably Edmontosaurus, a dinosaur that was probably and Iguanodon, and a creature that was unmistakably an Ouranosaurus. It's amazing how species that would have never met in real life would herd together like this now.

In the distance, I saw I herd of my absolute favorite dinosaur: Stegosaurus! They were magnificent! Each elephant sized beast wandered along, there body waddling with each step. Yet, they also had a weird sort of grace about them. It was very hard to describe.

Then, suddenly, something came crashing out of the trees in the distance. The hadrosaurs yelled out a terrified bellow and started to stampeded. Chasing after them was a large, carnivorous dinosaur, the size of a bus! It didn't take me long to deduce the species; its size, its skull shape, the arms, it was obvious.

It was a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Suddenly, another one came out from the woods. This one started to pursue the Stegosaurus herd. The stegosaurs began to panic, except for one, who confronted the tyrannosaur head on. The T. rex snapped, with the stegosaurs spiked tail whipping towards its head. Unexpectedly, the tail hit the tyrannosaur in the eye, and the great predator began to step back. It turned around, and saw the other tyrannosaur caught a Parasaurolophus, and it left to join the other one with the catch.

It was astonishing to watch them eat together. At first I thought they were rival predators, but they obviously seem to be working together. One of the tyrannosaurs was brownish in color, while the other was a brighter green with black stripes. It would seem that sexual dimorphism extends to these species as well. Were they mates? Brother or sister? This kind of behavior is incredible, and something you just don't see in the fossil record. That's exactly why I'm here.

July 20th, 11:45 P.M.

I can't sleep. Something about those tyrannosaurs changed me. At first, I was in awe at their presence, but that childlike joy has suddenly been replaced with dread. Now that I know that carnivores of that size are roaming the island, I'm filling up with an ever increasing sense of paranoia.

But it isn't just the T. rexes. I'm starting to hear things in the night. It' more than rustling in the trees. I'm hearing the most alien sounds imaginable. Loud shrieks and screams, unlike anything I've ever heard before. Alongside them are the sounds of a bellowing animal, roaring out in pain. Afterwards, you hear the crunching and growling of whatever it is that killed that poor creature. But it's the screams that get to me. They sound so unnatural, almost like a human, almost like an animal, but not quite like either of them. What is it?

July 21st, 2004, 7:34 A.M.

I awoke early, wondering what the day would bring. What I saw next I didn't expect. Right next to my tent was a large track way, left by some large animal. The tracks were three toed, and pretty deep in the sand. It was obviously a theropod footprint, a very big one at that. In fact, it looked just like a tyrannosaurs. Was a T. Rex by my tent last night!?

How could I not hear it!? It could have walked right up and killed me and I would have never seen it coming. I was under the impression this beach was safe, and camping out in the jungle would be suicide, but I am seriously considering moving my base of operations. I can't explore too much if I must stick close to the shore, and it would seem no place is truly safe on this island. Might as well go in a little deeper.


End file.
